The latest House Price Index from Halifax reveals a 0.6pc rise in January, but
disappointing quarterly figures.

House prices rose 0.6pc last month, but experts warn that despite this the outlook is bleak. The average house price in the UK for January was £160,907, up from £159,888. This is only the second reported rise in the past six months, and the first since October.

According to the latest House Prices Index from Halifax, property prices in the three months to the end of January were 0.9pc lower than in the previous three months, and 1.8pc lower than the three months to the end of January 2011.

Although house prices rose in January, this followed two consecutive months of falls of 1pc. In December, house prices were revealed to be at their lowest level since July 2009.

Despite these fluctuations, property prices are at a similar level to May 2011 when the average house cost £161,039.

Howard Archer, chief economist for Global Insight said that January's positive figures were an anomaly.

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"House prices are notoriously volatile from month to month and from survey to survey, and it is notable that most of the latest evidence remains soft with the Nationwide reporting that house prices fell 0.2pc month-on-month in January and Hometrack reporting that they were flat," he said.

"As such, we are sticking to our view that house prices are likely to fall by around 5pc in 2012. The latest Halifax data, along our belief that the economy will likely just avoid recession, suggests that house prices are unlikely to fall sharply."

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax was less pessimistic, but he did say that the outlook for the UK housing market depended heavily on the eurozone.

"Prospects for house prices over the coming months will, to a large extent, depend on events in the Eurozone and the repercussions of developments there for the UK economy. If the UK can avoid a prolonged recession, we expect broad stability in house prices in 2012," he said.